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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25235725">it's smarter to be lucky than it's lucky to be smart</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/lostin_space/pseuds/lostin_space'>lostin_space</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>The Collector [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Roswell New Mexico (TV 2019)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe, BAMF Alex Manes, Con Artists, M/M, Malex Week 2020, Minor Violence, Theft</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 03:28:36</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,592</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25235725</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/lostin_space/pseuds/lostin_space</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Kyle propositions Alex to steal from a rich alien.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Alex Manes/Kyle Valenti, Michael Guerin/Alex Manes</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>The Collector [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1828192</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>71</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Malex Week 2020</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>it's smarter to be lucky than it's lucky to be smart</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>malex week day 1: meet ugly</p><p>I had no earthly idea how to tag this, so definitely let me know if i need to add something</p><p>i learned the title from war is a science from Pippin, but apparently it's an actual saying???</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>"How'd you like to make some money?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Alex looked up over his drink to the set of pretty eyes across from him. They belonged to a face Alex knew well, a little older and a little more hardened than he remembered, but the eyes were the same.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"You sure know how to rope a guy in," Alex said, putting his drink down and smiling. Kyle rolled his eyes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know how to rope you in,” he said, sitting down and leaning back, “So, you wanna?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m gonna need more information.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“There’s this guy, he’s a collector,” Kyle said, looking around before leaning forward and raising his eyebrows, “You know, a collector.” Which was Kyle’s not-so-subtle way of saying he collected alien artifacts.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay, and?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And I think you would benefit from him,” Kyle said. Alex snorted a laugh.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No one’s listening, just spit it out,” Alex prodded. Kyle narrowed his eyes at him which just made Alex even more amused. He missed Kyle. You know, even if he was always scared of taking risks or getting his hands dirty. “Alright, I’ll do it, whatever it is. You clearly need help.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kyle took a deep breath to bury his annoyance.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Tomorrow, 6 PM, I’ll text you the coordinates. Wear a suit.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Always.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>-</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“A pen? You went through all this trouble so I could steal a pen?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Alex’s day job was working IT for a big, boring office building. His hobby was stealing from the guys who owned big, boring companies. He was a good con man, always had been. He hadn’t gotten caught since he was six and didn’t understand the concept of security cameras. So Kyle bringing him to an alien dinner party to steal a pen felt like a waste of his talent.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s not just a pen,” Kyle hissed, grabbing him by the elbow and tugging him to the front door, "It's made of alien technology, it can help translate the thousands of pages we can't read."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Why do you want to translate it? You sound like those guys who want to blow up the Sphinx of Giza to see what's inside," Alex told him, "Gotta have what's not ours, right?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Wrong," Kyle said, squeezing his arm. Alex grinned.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I like it when you get all rough."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Stop," Kyle groaned, "I need it because those papers are the last thing I have that might tell me where my dad is." Alex very quickly got serious.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Okay," he agreed, "I can get it, don't worry."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Thank you," Kyle breathed, letting him go before knocking on the front door of the large house that was already bustling with humans and aliens alike.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shockingly, the owner himself, Michael Guerin, answered. He was just like the pictures: slightly tamed curls, a specially tailored paisley suit, and a charming smile tying it all together. A martini glass was in one hand, resting in a fist full of expensive rings. Alex knew those rings. He'd stolen some just like them from another rich alien with an ambiguous job. It was like their calling card. But this alien was much more attractive and his eyes immediately landed on Alex.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Forgive me, I would know if you were in my invite list," he said, voice smooth and fitting.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Well, I know who you are, Jay Gatsby," he said and Michael smiled wider, "Oh, sorry, Freudian slip."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He’s my plus one,” Kyle interjected. Michael reluctantly gave him his attention. “You didn’t specify if there was anyone off-limits.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“There isn’t,” Michael said, eyes drifting to Alex again, “And if there was, he would not be on that list.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alex,” Alex introduced, deliberately excluding his last name. Michael nodded, looking him up and down slowly despite Kyle saying he was his plus one. Alex raised an eyebrow and Michael just hid his grin behind his glass as he took a sip.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Come in,” he said after a few seconds of staring.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They walked into the house and Alex’s mind immediately started to calculate when would be the best time to sneak up the stairs and to his office where the pen was. Kyle had shown him a map of the place that he’d gotten his hands on. Up the stairs, hang a right, fourth door on the left. The pen was on his desk, probably, blending in with regular ones that looked just like it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So, Alex,” Michael said, leading the way towards the main room. Alex didn’t let his eyes linger on the stairwell or the balcony from the second floor that overlooked the large dining hall. It’d be harder than he wanted to sneak up there without someone noticing. “What do you do?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I work in IT at Pryze Inc,” Alex answered. Michael gave him an impressed look. “It’s just IT.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s where it starts, though, just IT. Give it a few years, you’ll be something great,” he said. Alex hummed, stepping past him to steal two champagne glasses from a caterers tray.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m already something great.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I can believe that,” Micahel breathed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We all can,” Kyle agreed, accepting the second glass from Alex’s hand. They both took a sip and Michael looked between them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>That’s sort of how it went for the next hour. Alex made small talk and tried to find a good way to slip away. Michael eventually had to make nice with other people, but his eyes did stay on Alex for most of the night. It was a little more than infuriating. Did he know why he was here? Was that why he was watching him?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m gonna go to the bathroom, watch my drink,” Alex said, tilting his head at Kyle. He seemed to understand well enough and grabbed the glass from him. Alex dragged his hand over his arm as he passed, heading for the bathroom.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There were two options, he figured. Either the bathroom excuse would make Michael go the fuck away for long enough to let him get upstairs or, if it didn’t, make he could get Michael to show him upstairs himself. The man was clearly interested.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Alex checked himself in the mirror before pulling out a flask from his suit jacket pocket. He poured a little bit of acetone over his fingers and then dragged them over the underside of his jaw and then dabbed some on his lips. If Michael wasn’t going to leave him alone, he might as well distract him some other way.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>When he stepped out of the bathroom, he saw that he made the right decision because Michael was still fucking lingering. He either knew exactly what Alex was here for or Alex was hotter than he even realized. Both were entirely plausible.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Alex walked right up to him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re not subtle,” Alex said. Michael grinned, his eyes drawing towards his lips and his jaw. Alex decided not to let his smug smile show.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m rich, I don’t have to be.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, well, rich is boring,” Alex responded.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You really believe that, Robin Hood?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I do.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right,” Michael said, enunciating the word deliberately. Alex tilted his head.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why don’t you show me upstairs?” Alex asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I thought you’d never ask.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Michael led the way and Alex looked over the banister to wink in Kyle’s direction. He gave a small smile of encouragement and Alex absorbed it, ready to woo this rich alien for long enough to steal the pen. Then he could leave and never deal with him again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Alex became more sure than ever that Michael didn’t know why he was here whenever he took him directly into his office. It was pristine and well put together, something out of a movie set that didn’t factor in that most people left shit out on their desks in real life. There was a pen cup in the right corner. Four of them looked identical, but only one of those four had that distinct blue tint to the metal clip.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Have you ever modeled?” Michael asked, “Because I think you would be fantastic at it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Funnily enough, I never was interested in that,” Alex said, turning his back to the desk to make it seem like he hadn’t spotted the pen, “I’m more about brains.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So am I,” Michael agreed, stepping closer.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you? I would never have assumed that. It seems you like the show of being rich,” Alex said easily. Michael shrugged.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Maybe it’s just the best way to meet new people when you’re in my position,” Michael said. Alex eyed him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Maybe.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He got closer and Alex waited for him to go in for a kiss. He knew he would. They always did. And, inevitably, he fell right into that trap.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He pressed into Alex’s space as he kissed him which made him stumble a step back against his desk. Perfect. Alex grabbed his jaw, holding him in place as he let him get a little intoxicated off the taste of his lips. It was just too easy.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Alex used that hold to switch places, pushing Michael into his own desk. He stepped between his thighs, all but holding him in place with one hand on the back of his neck and one on his jaw. Michael seemed to enjoy being manhandled which worked for Alex on more than one level.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was a slow process. Alex kissed him, drawing out little, pathetic sounds. Alex grinned against his lips and slowly let go of his jaw. He kissed him harder and Michael grabbed his hips, pulling him in closer. Honestly, if he wasn't on a mission, he'd probably let himself get carried away. But, Alex <em>was </em>on a mission and he opened his eyes through it all, checking that Michael was completely distracted before memorizing where the pen was on the desk. He slowly started to edge his hand in that direction, pulling on Michael’s hair for good measure. He groaned in response.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was a slow process, but Alex managed to slip the pen up his sleeve and hook the clip onto the little armband he had beneath his shirt. Too easy. Way too easy.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Alex kissed him for a few more seconds, but he stopped it when Michael’s hand started to wander.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Probably a bad idea,” Alex breathed, “We should get back downstairs.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Michael nodded, reluctantly letting him go. Alex was halfway to the door when he felt an outside force wrap around his arm and the pen was taken from him. Alex snapped his attention to Michael who was still leaning against the desk. He no longer had that kissed-out look on his face.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You should know who you’re dealing with,” Michael said simply as the pen hung in the air between them. Alex stared for a moment before he dug his hand into his jacket pocket, putting out a little vial of yellow powder. He unscrewed it and tossed it in Michael’s direction easily.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And you should know who </span>
  <em>
    <span>you’re </span>
  </em>
  <span>dealing with.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>In the few seconds that it took Michael to get over his shock, Alex dove forward and caught the pen before it hit the ground. Then he turned and quickly exited the room, slipping it in his pocket. Michael was right behind him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Instead of heading down the stairs, Alex decided to save them both the troubles of making a scene and took a right. He ran down the hall, grinning with satisfaction, and Michael ran after him, decidedly less giddy. Sure, this </span>
  <em>
    <span>technically </span>
  </em>
  <span>was him getting caught, but Alex knew he was still going to get away. He always did. This was no different. Simply a temporary setback.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The last door in the hallway was a closet that apparently had a secret little latch that led to a set of stairs that led outside. The house was old enough to be built in a time where servants were commonplace and that was a nice way to make sure they didn’t directly interact with your company. Alex was going to use it as a getaway.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He quickly closed the door behind him once he got in there and shoved a conveniently placed umbrella beneath the doorknob. Alex was smiling ear to ear as he found the latch and ran down the steep staircase, taking them two at a time. Kyle would be outside with the car running, waiting for him to just jump in and they’d peel off. He just knew it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>However, when Alex busted through the door, Michael was standing in the way.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How the fu‒” Alex started to ask without thinking. There was no way any human could make it all the way down the winding staircase and out the door and all the way to the side of the house in the same time it took Alex to get down those stairs. But, then again, he wasn’t human. So, instead, he stopped talking and just threw a punch.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alex!” Michael exclaimed, somehow shocked </span>
  <em>
    <span>again, </span>
  </em>
  <span>and Alex broke into a sprint towards Kyle’s car.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But the car wasn’t started. And Kyle wasn’t in it. He was outside of it, sitting on the hood.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What the hell are you doing?! I got it, let’s go!” Alex said. But Kyle just gave a smile and shook his head. A feeling of dread slowly started pooling in his gut. Did he really let his childhood fondness for Kyle distract him from a fucking trap? Was that what this was? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Alex turned and saw Michael coming closer, wiping his bloody lip with his thumb.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You have good instincts,” Michael said as he neared them. Alex was already trying to figure out how he could get out of this. He could run down the street, maybe hide in the shed of one of the other rich people he lived near until the next morning and people wouldn’t be looking for him. “You think fast and you trust yourself. That’s a good quality to have.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This was a setup,” Alex said, whipping back around to face Kyle, “Why the hell would you set me up?!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Just listen to him,” Kyle urged, nodding his way, “You’re not in trouble.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You still set me up!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, set you up for an interview, one you clearly passed,” Kyle said. Alex’s eyebrows furrowed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“An </span>
  <em>
    <span>interview?” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Alex asked. Kyle again gestured towards Michael. Alex slowly turned to face him again, feeling more confused than he cared to admit.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I run a little underground business, so to speak,” Michael said, “I have a collection of alien artifacts, but it’s harder to get my hands dirty, so I have other people do it for me. Whenever I needed a new face, Kyle suggested you. And he was right. If I didn’t know exactly what you were stealing, I probably would’ve had no idea. And you still almost got away. I could use someone like you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sorry, I’m freelance,” Alex spat, feeling betrayed as he looked back to Kyle, “You could’ve told me what was going on.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If you knew it was a test, you would’ve gotten too cocky. I wanted to show him what you’re actually capable of,” Kyle said, “Don’t be mad.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You could quit your day job,” Michael said, “You could make this your full-time gig.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re a piece of shit, I don’t want to work for some guy who collects artifacts,” Alex said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Better than working for Pryze,” Michael pointed out.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Alex stared at him and then Kyle. He didn’t know what to say or how to feel about any of this. He still felt wronged, but also… </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So what do you say,” Michael asked, “How’d you like to work for me?”</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Alex "Eat the Rich" Manes</p><p> </p><p>also on my Tumblr: spaceskam</p></blockquote></div></div>
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